They're the Christmas gift idea popularised by celebrities including Justin Bieber and Lily Allen - but they could very well turn deadly.

Parents rushing out to buy their kids and their loved ones hoverboards this holiday season should beware.

In this Facebook video Timothy Cade proves that his £300 purchase became a too hot to handle and almost set him on fire.

The popular gift idea which doesn't actually hover but is instead a two wheeled hands-free scooter suddenly exploded and caught fire beneath his feet as he took it for a spin outside his home in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

And what's worse - even after he tries to put it out - with the help of his worried mum, the £300 self-igniting electric vehicle refuses to be dampened down continuing to blaze on the pavement.

"I came outside turned it on, came down the sidewalk not even a 100 feet, and it exploded," Cade, who wasn't injured, told US based TV station WKRG.

"Batteries started shooting out of it; you would not expect a fire like that to come out of a little thing like that. I was not expecting something like that."

Thankfully Cade was able to record the whole spontaneous combustion on camera to show others what can happen when hoverboards go wrong.

He added: "I was yelling my mom's name, and she ran out with some baking soda because I didn't know what to put on that type of fire."

The fiery footage shows Cade throwing water on the device to extinguish the fire - but be warned firefighters warn against such actions due to the risk of electrocution.

This is not the first time a hoverboard has caused a serious incident.

READ MORE:

(Image: YouTube)

The scooters which are actually supposed to resemble the levitating board used for personal transportation in the films Back to the Future Part II and Back to the Future Part III - are developing a reputation for pyromania.